Wednesday, July 06, 2005

Acne Scar Removal Surgery

Acne scar removal surgery is one way of treating the scars left behind from acne. Acne scar removal surgery can be done by your dermatologist.

If you are considering acne scar removal surgery be sure to do some research. Before you have acne scar removal surgery check out the doctor and the treatments available.

Some things your doctor will consider before acne scar removal surgery are your age and health as well as the type and severity of the scars. Before acne scar removal surgery your doctor may also need to know how you tolerate certain meds and procedures.

One type of acne scar removal surgery is called dermabrasion. When dermabrasion is used the top layers of skin are removed with a machine. This type of acne scar removal surgery should produce skin that appears smoother.

Another kind of acne scar removal surgery is the chemical peel. A chemical peel is an acne scar removal surgery procedure where the top layer of skin is removed chemically as the name implies. The skin regenerates after a chemical peel and often the appearance of the skin is improved.

Laser resurfacing is a type of acne scar removal surgery that uses a high-energy light to burn away acne-damaged skin. This acne scar removal surgery is used to minimize fine scars.

Punch grafts are an acne scar removal surgery that is used for deep acne scars. When this acne scar removal surgery is used, unscarred skin is used to replace skin that is scarred with acne.

The best acne scar removal surgery for you will be the one that you and your doctor decide on together.

Monday, July 04, 2005

Learn To Take Control of Depression.

While depression is a growing epidemic in western society, it remains to be one of the most treatable as well. While the medical profession looks first to medication, I believe only the most severe cases require any long-term medical treatment.

If you look at the criteria for diagnosing depression, you will notice that most of it relies on behavior and thinking. Two things that we can consciously control, even if in the pit of depression it does not seem like it.

I was clinically depressed for several years in my early adulthood, and have since worked with hundreds of people suffering from anxiety and depression. What I have seen in people who get through the depression without medication, is that they relearn how to not act and think depressed. They learn that they are responsible for their depressive thoughts and behaviors even if they do not feel great. I remember taking half an hour to roll off the couch and do a push-up when I was depressed because I knew I had to do something that went against how I was feeling.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy has always been known to be effective in dealing with most depressed people. The basis of this is to understand how your thoughts influence your feelings and behavior, then to work to change the habitual thought patterns in a beneficial way.

Some of the more common depressive thinking patterns are to: catastrophize, to attribute specific events to always and never (over-generalizing), and to argue against hope and positivity. Just these three can lead us to think that everything is always worse than it really it is and will never get better. The more someone tries to cheer a depressed person up, the more the person argues and holds onto their view, because they think nobody else can understand how bad it is for them. We get into a habit of negative perception, and exclude any evidence that it can or is getting better.

At the root of depression you will usually find anger (at self, others, and the world), feeling alone, fear, hopelessness, and helplessness. Often depressed people will have some social anxiety, causing them to isolate and be uncomfortable around others. When you talk to a depressed person they are usually trying to convince you how bad it is, so they are also looking for validation. Rather than trying to convince you that it is not as bad as you think and will get better, I would rather start where you are and agree with you. I would ask you how being this depressed and having such a terrible life benefits you and why you would want to stay there.

The truth is that most depressed people get a benefit from being depressed, and it is often that nobody expects anything of them, and they can justify their ineffective behavior. Being depressed is easier than dealing with life and taking action to improve it. We fool ourselves into believing that we are helpless and there are no options to make it better. Depression becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy that helps us prove how bad our life is because we don't do anything to change it. I have found that sometimes having suicidal thoughts can actually bring about positive change because when you get that desperate you are usually willing to see other options and maybe choose one over killing yourself.

While I know that depression can usually be helped without medication, I am not totally against taking short-term antidepressants as long as it is in combination with other things as described above. If all you do is take the meds, any improvement is attributed to the meds and you don't learn to live differently and feel a sense of personal power. However, sometimes the meds can help us just enough so that we can start making these changes and then eventually when our life looks better, we can be weaned off of them.

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Serevent Named on FDA Top 5 Most Dangerous Prescriptions Drugs

Serevent is an asthma inhalation medication, a bronchodilator, that relaxes the muscles in airways. It is preventative and not effective when taken during an asthma attack.

Possible side effects of Serevent include allergic reactions noted by breathing problems or swelling of the throat, lips, tongue or face, hives, headaches, dizziness, insomnia, tremors, sweating, nausea, and dry mouth. In many cases, Serevent users have an increased risk of dying from asthma related problems especially if they are taking anti-inflammatory medications even though the FDA first approved Serevent to supplement and not replace anti-inflammatory drugs. Furthermore, the FDA did not approve Serevent to treat acute symptoms of asthma, just basic asthma symptoms and COPD (chromic obstructive pulmonary disorder). Then in 2004 the FDA named Serevent among the top five most dangerous prescription drugs on the U.S. market.

If you or a loved one has suffered from the adverse effects of Serevent, then you may be able to file a lawsuit against GlaxoSmithKline, the manufacturer of Serevent. GlaxoSmithKline was instructed by the FDA to put a black box warning on the drug about the potential side effects, but it did not comply and has yet to add the black box warning. This is willful negligence and if it has injured you, then you should be compensated financially to repay your medical expenses, lost wages and physical and emotional suffering. Drug-Store-Pharmacy.com does NOT sell Serevent.

Sunday, June 26, 2005

Everyday I have the Blues: A Medical Intuitive look at Depression

It may come in waves, it may control our lives. Depression is something that many of us struggle with.

For some people, depression has been a part of their experience for so long that they've begun to believe it's what they are. They become experts at "doing" depression--hiding it, working around it, even achieving great things (but at the price of great struggle and little satisfaction).Recent research suggests some genetic cause, or other biological pre-disposition towards depression. However in my work with depressed clients, I have not found a single paradigm that explains all of its elements.

Here is an outline of a more holistic approach that has worked for many of my clients.

(1) Feel your feelings (depression is the suppression of feelings -- acknowledging those feelings often causes depression to improve). I find that what limits a person's capacity for love or recognition is what they are afraid to feel. Wherever I go, whomever I talk with, their ability to stay in a marriage, to work consciously, to be without fear and to experience joy depends upon what they have the capacity to feel.Remembered pain is hostility and anger, anticipated pain is fear and anxiety, pain directed at yourself is guilt. The depletion of energy with all of the above is depression.

(2) Realize that nothing comes out of the blue (your depressed state has a root cause that you should look for in events or situations).

(4) Establish priorities so that your energy focuses on what's most important to you.

(5) Communicate as directly as possible to everyone around you. Depressed people are often poor communicators who don't get their emotional needs served. With better communication, they can experience a more supportive emotional environment.

(6) Take and expect the right responsibility for yourself -- for your own actions. Depressed people often feel guilty about things that they have no responsibility for (like the death of a parent or the divorce of their parents). Eat good whole foods. A new study published in the February 15, 2005 issue of Biological Psychiatry shows that certain foods are better at treating depression than antidepressant drugs. The study found that omega-3 fatty acids and foods high in a compound called uridine were able to reduce the symptoms of depression as well as or better than three different antidepressant drugs that were tested. In addition to the omega-3 fatty acids, these health enhancing substances are found in walnuts, molasses and fish, according to researchers. This research was conducted at the McLean Hospital, affiliated with Harvard.

(7) Look for heroes. These role models can empower you to see the way to improve, especially if they were also depressed like Abraham Lincoln.

(9) Cultivate intimacy. This means letting down your defenses so people can see you as you are, and accept you for that. Depressed people often feel disgusted with their true selves, and hide that self from everyone.

(10) Get help when you need it. This may be the most important piece of advice since so many people do not. Medicine often has value and can help a person achieve a level of stability so that they can tackle the other causalities of their depression. A severely depressed person should seek professional help and find a medication of some kind before starting this work. It could be very overwhelming for someone who is in complete despair.

There are many other actions that you can take to lessen, lift, and heal your depression.Opening to your feelings, communicating your needs, and cultivating intimacy are powerful life tools for healing and for living.

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Antidepressants 101- What You Absolutely Need to Know

Change in social and economical states throughout the world although has brought prosperity among the individuals of the world but at a price. It has brought both physical and mental stressors. Now people have to work harder and under mental tensions. Now the depression is prevalent everywhere at office, in transport and also at home. To relieve those stressors people are trying every type of therapy be it drugs or some exercise or some kind of psychotherapy so as to work efficiently.

Depression is basically a pathological change in mood. For being diagnosed as depressed medically one has to have certain well defined symptoms such as early morning awakening, decreased or increased appetite, decreased interest, sense of guilt, etc. continuously for a period of 2 weeks. From the biochemical point of view at the neuronal level it is hypothesized that there is a lack of nor adrenaline and Serotonin at the neuronal nerve endings.

Modern day antidepressants are classified broadly into nor adrenaline and serotonin reuptake inhibitors, selective serotonin reuptake intake inhibitors and the atypical ones. As stated above, the cause of depression is lack of nor adrenaline and serotonin and hence most of the antidepressants are meant to serve that purpose for e.g. some like imipramine increase the concentration of nor adrenaline and serotonin while selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) like fluoxetine block the uptake and hence increase the concentration of serotonin. The atypical antidepressants like mianserin increase the release of nor adrenaline at the neuronal nerve endings cause the elevation of mood. Extreme forms of depression are associated with suicidal tendencies and they are mostly treated by electro convulsive therapy.

Uses and side effects

The anti-depressants are used in major depression and also are sometimes used in enuresis of children. The side effects of the antidepressants are many like dry mouth sedation increased appetite hypotension and convulsions to name only few but the most important of them all are dependence of the patients on these medications and then the drug abuse.The electro convulsive therapy has the side effect of some impairment in memory hence it is only used in extreme cases.

Other options and their advantages

The other options available in the market are herbal medicines, cognitive psychotherapy, yoga and other alternative medicine. Most of these therapies are based on the age-old system on minimally disrupting the chemical composition of the body but at the same time relieving the subjects of their symptoms. One of the herbal medicines is St. John’s wort. Therapies like yoga and psychotherapy are gaining ground as most the drugs are having their own side effects profile but these have none. Cognitive therapy aims at altering the thought processes of the individual and has beneficial effects not only in depression but also in disorders as varied as panic attacks, bulimia, etc.

From the discussion it is clear that there are a number of options available and what is best for one is not necessarily going to be the best for other and hence the therapy should be customized for individual rather than generalized.

Monday, June 20, 2005

Weight Loss Fads that Don't Work

No matter what the reason, successful weight loss and healthy weight management depend on sensible goals and expectations. If you set sensible goals for yourself, chances are you'll be more likely to meet them and have a better chance of keeping the weight off. In fact, losing even five to 10 percent of your weight is the kind of goal that can help improve your health.

Most overweight people should lose weight gradually. For safe and healthy weight loss, try not to exceed a rate of two pounds per week. Sometimes, people with serious health problems associated with obesity may have legitimate reasons for losing weight rapidly.

What you weigh is the result of several factors:

-how much and what kinds of food you eat

-whether your lifestyle includes regular physical activity

-whether you use food to respond to stress and other situations in your life

-your physiologic and genetic make-up

-your age and health status.

Successful weight loss and weight management should address all of these factors. And that's the reason to ignore products and programs that promise unrealistic quick and easy results, or that promise permanent results without permanent changes in your lifestyle. Any ad that says you can lose weight without lowering the calories you take in and/or increasing your physical activity is selling fantasy and false hope. In fact, some people would call it fraud.

Why Fad Diets Don't Work

The world has an unhealthy obsession with 'fad' diets. This is due to the American culture's need for a magic bullet or solution that provides immediate gratification. Technically a diet simply refers to what you eat any day. In the truest sense, we are all on a diet daily - the question is, is it healthy or not.

It can get pretty confusing because one is assaulted daily with claims from diet gurus. Also sky-high book sales from diet plans promoting diets that restrict certain foods or food combining tells us that these diets are healthy. This is not necessarily true. The diet may work for the short term but you could end up with a heart attack, problem skin, kidney failure and even malnutrition!

There is continuing controversy between the "diet" experts about which diet works best. One book advises to avoid all carbohydrates, yet another promotes carbohydrates. Some suggest that you consume a high fat, high protein diet consisting of no carbohydrates, while another may say that eating no fat is the key to weight loss success. Who do we believe, and what do we believe? I’m not discred iting all weight-loss programs and products. Those few that focus on permanent lifestyle changes, correct information, and proper nutrition are the weight loss programs that are the most successful.

Fad diets don't work because they cause you to focus more on food than you would if you were not dieting. Most of them are based on self-deprivation. Depriving one’s self of a craving usually doesn't last for more than a day. The next thing you know the person is breaking the diet, feeling the failure of that and then giving up altogether. The idea is to adopt a healthy eating and exercise plan to avoid this common dieter's pitfall.

Another drawback of fad diets is that many of them don't work at all. Some, such as those based on diuretic herbs simply cause a loss of water rather than fat. This water is simply regained back by the body and then retained with a vengeance after you are off the diet. This is known as rebound weight gain.

Diets fail because they offer no long-term solution. When people initially start dieting they’re highly motivated. They immediately stop eating fast food, stop-consuming alcohol, stop eating sweets, and start exercising. But as time passes, they fail to exercise, as often, they don't watch calories as closely as they once did, and they lose the motivation they once had. As a result, they fall back into old habits, patterns, and eventually a lifestyle. You can prevent this phenomenon by introducing changes at a gradual pace. Don’t attempt to change your entire lifestyle overnight. For example, cut back on sugar consumption and add exercise to your daily routine two or three times a week. A few weeks later add another day of exercise and limit junk food consumption to once or twice a week; continue until a balance is reached and you feel in control.

The reason that most diet gurus sell a lot of books is because they are selling hope, not realistic expectations. Many people place all their trust in the book, and not themselves. As a result, they don’t accomplish their weight-loss goal because the secret isn’t found in a diet book. Succeeding at weight-loss requires far more than just reading a book, it requires the accumulation of knowledge, patience, planning, good choices, and of course, realistic expectations.

It’s essential to make good choices. Once you make a choice, it then makes you. Choices feed habits, habits define lifestyle, and lifestyle determines your future. Learning to make good choices is an important step in establishing long-term weight loss goals

Friday, June 17, 2005

Residential Drug Treatment Centers

Chemical dependency recovery provides with positive changes in reactions and behaviors. Residential Treatment Centers can be accommodate those suffering from alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling addiction, and more. Treating both men and women together, or separately, they can offer the assistance that you need . Some residential treatment centers can even provide an atmosphere for specific cultural groups.

Recovery from any addiction requires changes in reactions and behaviors. A residential drug treatment center may be on of the best choices you can make if you are looking towards getting the experiences to help yourself overcome any stumbling blocks along the way so you can not only recover but learn how you can feel more relaxed.

The staff of the drug treatment centers are astounding at handling your needs. You will find, depending on what residential drug treatment center you choose, programs supervised by doctors, nurses, and highly trained professionals. Many centers employ professional dieticians and chefs to meet your nutritional needs. These people work together to help you relax and get the most out of the treatment program.

A residential drug treatment center provides a safe environment in which the addict is provided with quality counseling, help, and friendship. Residential treatment centers provide an escape from the streets, negative consequences, and bad environments which speeds the recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. Many recovery facilities offer private rooms, home cooked meals, smoking and non-smoking areas, and meditation and weight training.

Education and training, guidance and help are the foundation of residential drug treatment centers. They provide the skills necessary to recover and enjoy a healthy mind, body, and spirit. Any setbacks can be overcome with the proper support.

Recovery is only the commencement of a astounding new life! The addict learns to be free from the bonds of alcohol and drugs and experiences healing, self expression, and joy. This not only benefits the individual, but their family and friends as well. This new found freedom will last a lifetime.

Personalized treatment and help is the goal of most residential drug treatment centers. 12 Step Programs such as Alcoholics Anonimous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA), Cocaine Anonymous (CA), and Gamblers Anonymous (GA) are often integrated into the residential drug treatment center programs. Aftercare is another benefit of most drug and alcoholic treatment centers. Treatment groups and individual treatment play a major role in the process of recovering from addictions. Group sessions are anonymous so you can relax and talk about your feelings with others suffering from similar problems. Alcoholism, gambling addiction, and drug addiction problems can often be overcome faster with care from others facing the same hurdles. Residential treatment program doctors or councilors, specializing in addiction disorders and treating chemical dependency disorders, can offer help and advice.

Every year, thousands of sufferers successfully recover from their addictions. Treatment programs offer the tools and aid needed to overcome addiction and live from from addiction. They can enjoy a new world free from problems.

Thursday, June 16, 2005

How to Achieve Younger Looking Skin

Overexposure to the sun causes wrinkles and premature aging.

The most important thing you can do to help minimize wrinkles is to stay out of the sun. If you suntan now, you will pay for it later. Over time, exposure to the sun causes permanent damage to your skin. This causes freckling, dark spots, wrinkles, and thickening or roughening of the skin, and you can end up looking years older than your actual age. More seriously, it can also lead to skin cancer. Wearing a sunscreen with UVA and UVB protection daily is a must. Don't forget your lips—use a lip balm with sunscreen daily. A darker shade of lipstick will offer some additional protection. Some people who are sensitive to the sun also find excessive sun exposure aggravates/promotes cold sores.

Diet and Exercise Make a Difference.

Younger looking skin starts from the inside, with a healthy, balanced diet and regular exercise. Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, and avoid refined sugars, flours and processed foods. Try to eat more whole grains and seafood and less red meat. Learn to regard beans and legumes as a tasty source of protein and fiber. You have probably read many times about the importance of drinking lots of water, but do you actually do it? One of the best things you can do for healthier, younger looking skin is to drink lots of water, at least eight 8-ounces glasses a day, more if exercising. Drinking water helps keep your body hydrated, your skin will be softer and wrinkles will be less apparent.

An exercise program is vital to staying healthy and younger looking. Exercise, both aerobic and strength training, has so many benefits. Here are just a few:

Now that you've armed yourself with protection from the sun, a good diet and exercise, you can explore the myriad of wrinkle creams and anti-aging skincare products for reducing the appearance of your wrinkles and to help prevent new ones.

There are many on the market. The best ones include alpha hydroxy acids or beta hydroxy acids, which help exfoliate the skin to reveal the softer, smoother skin underneath. Other hot products include those with argireline, which is a peptide that helps relax facial muscles when applied topically.

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Setting Objectives For Weight Loss

I am sure that when I mention setting objectives for weight loss, the majority of people will be thinking in terms of how many pounds in weight that they, or someone else, should lose. That is similar, in a way, to those who consider setting financial objectives, and then state money as an objective.

Really, if they think about it more closely, money is not an objective; the real objective is what you are going to do with that money. If it is to buy a new house, then the objective is that new house; if it is to retire to Mexico by the sea, then the objective is that new home in a new location, Mexico; if it is to help poor children in Africa, then the objective is helping children in Africa. The objective in those cases is not the money itself; money is worthless if it sits there doing nothing. It just happens to be that many objectives require money to achieve them.

In a way, there is a similarity with weight loss; should weight loss be classed as an objective in itself? Perhaps not, but that does not really matter; what matters is finding the best way for you to lose weight. If you think about it, your decision to lose weight is as a result of other factors. Weight loss is not something you have suddenly considered in isolation; a number of other things have probably caused you to think of weight loss as being necessary. It is those “other things” that should be the subject of your objective setting.

Why You Need To Broaden Your Weight Loss Objectives

Weight loss is a very narrow objective. You may think, “why not, what else is there to say?” Losing weight is not an easy task. That extra weight has probably been the result of many years of bad eating and exercise habits. So, you decide to lose weight. Well, you won’t lose weight, and keep it off, without the full co-operation of your subconscious. For years, your subconscious has been your chief assistant in making you fat. Now you are suddenly going to say that the new name of the game is weight loss.

With that narrow objective of weight loss, you have done nothing to convince your subconscious this is a good idea. You have given no reason or reasons, so why should your subconscious co-operate with this meaningless weight loss exercise?

In your attempts to have a narrow body, you need to have a broader mind and set of objectives. Carefully chosen objectives will broaden your argument with your inner self, and are likely to be far more motivational. You will be choosing a sensible diet and exercise regimes to assist in reaching those objectives; weight loss will be incidental, just as money was in those earlier examples.

How To Set Weight Loss Objectives

You need to sit down quietly, and try to think as clearly as possible of the reasons why you have decided you want to lose weight. The true reasons, that is, not something like “cos I’m too fat.”

Once you have isolated the reasons, whether there’s one, two or many, then write them down. Those are the reasons you have suddenly decided to lose weight. Those should be the subjects of your objectives. I will give a few examples to help you to understand the concept:

Objective: To be able to go into boutiques and try on size 12 dresses…..successfully.

2.Reason to consider weight loss: You’ve read a lot about the association of being overweight and hypertension, and your blood pressure is high at 150/90.

Objective: To achieve a stable blood pressure of 120/70. (NB such blood pressure targets need to be discussed with your doctor, and will vary according to age and other factors. This is purely for example purposes.)

3.Reason to consider weight loss: You’re sick of being introduced to women, and sensing them looking you up and down with disgust.

Objective: To have women look at you admiringly again.

Those are just three examples; you may have more or less, but you could find it an interesting exercise analyzing yourself to see why you really want to lose weight.

How To Achieve Weight Loss Objectives

Consider those three example objectives above, and you will see that none mention losing weight. However, all are based on convincing reasons, that are more likely to get full co-operation from your subconscious. With those three objectives, losing weight can play an important part in achieving them, without being the main objective itself. So what you have done is to bring a broader front (if you’ll pardon the expression) to your weight loss objective setting.

There’s no reason to stop going to Weight Watchers or other weight loss group; there’s no reason not to have a target weight. After all, they are now in harmony with the three objectives you have already used to seduce your subconscious into co-operation.

How, then, can you set about achieving those objectives? A combination of meditation and visualization each day should help you convince your subconscious you are serious about these objectives. Here are a few tips:

1. Write the objectives down and keep them handy.

2. Read the objectives and repeat them, orally if possible, morning, lunch time and evening.

3. Morning and evening, in a quiet time lying down, relax your body, and focus on your breathing. Gradually dismiss all distraction around you, and then start to focus on each objective in turn. Repeat the objective in your mind, and visualize your successful achievement of it. See yourself proudly trying on that size 12 dress in front of admiring assistants; or walking into a party of strangers and the women looking admiringly at your new physique.

Give no dates for your objectives, let that come naturally. Repeat the process as long as necessary; weeks, months, years. Each time you visualize the achievement of your weight related objectives, your subconscious becomes more in tune with what you, consciously, want. Together, you will become a powerful team in the weight loss game.

Sunday, June 12, 2005

Watch Out for Misleading Pharmaceutical Advertising on Television!

In 1997, the Food and Drug Administration relaxed the rules for drug advertising on television and radio. Since that time, the airwaves have been flooded with commercials for all sorts of drugs. Some of them are vague, with a simple “Ask your doctor if drug x is right for you”; others spell out what the drug is used for and devote the commercial to telling you how much you will appreciate your product. Most consumers will probably assume that these commercials are honest, that the drugs will do what the ads say they will do, and that there are no side effects other than those mentioned in the ad. That may not be true, and consumers should be aware that the ads may not tell the whole story, and that they may be misleading.

The pharmaceutical industry spends $9 billion per year advertising their products, and the money they spend on television and radio ads is probably the most effective. Doctors may be skeptical of a product touted by a salesman, but consumers are easily swayed by television ads that show people living happy, productive lives while being treated for an ailment using the advertised product. Unfortunately, these ads may not be completely honest. In 2004, the FDA investigated thirty-six ads for drugs that the agency found to be misleading or incomplete in their descriptions of side effects. Consumers might think that the commercials must be honest, since the FDA wouldn’t allow dishonest commercials to air. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. The FDA does not require pharmaceutical companies to provide screening copies of their advertisements prior to airing. The FDA doesn’t actually see the ads until the consumers do. Several months may pass before the FDA takes action. In the case of misleading advertising, the most the FDA can usually do is ask the companies to either stop running the ads or to change them. These requests aren’t always timely, however. In the last five years, the FDA has asked the drug companies to stop running several ads that had already stopped running!

What this means for consumers is that some doubt should be exercised while viewing a commercial for a new drug. If you think an advertised product may be useful to you, discuss it with your physician, but ask if they know of any problems associated with the product. Research the product on the Internet. When your health is at stake, a little caution may be a good idea.